Description
Steamer Seen from the Beach is a 1907 work by Egon Schiele: a small oil painting of a flat brown beach, a grey sea with a steamship trailing smoke on the horizon, and a tall dark figure walking along the shore. The original is held by the Wien Museum in Vienna under inventory number 243486; it is painted on cardboard and measures just 25.8 x 14.6 cm. We paint it by hand in oils on canvas at the size you choose, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished work for approval.
| Title: | Steamer Seen from the Beach |
| Other titles: | Dampfer vom Strand aus gesehen |
| Painter: | Egon Schiele (1890–1918) |
| Year: | 1907 |
| Original size (width × height): | 25.8 cm x 14.6 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on cardboard |
| Style: | Early work |
| Location: | Wien Museum, Vienna (inv. 243486) |
| Our reproduction: | hand-painted oil on canvas, 4 sizes from 70 x 40 cm to 150 x 85 cm, or a made-to-measure size |
Steamer Seen from the Beach – Egon Schiele
What does the painting show?
The Austrian painter divides the picture into three bands. The lower half is a broad, flat beach in warm red-brown; above it lies a grey-violet sea, and above that a pale grey sky crossed by brownish streaks. At the left, on the horizon, sits a dark steamship with a funnel, its smoke drifting back in a long brown plume. Across the middle of the beach walks a tall figure in a long dark garment, seen almost as a silhouette, and further right a few smaller figures stand near the water. The paint is laid on quickly, in broad horizontal strokes.
Why do people love it?
Because it says a great deal with very little: three bands of colour, one ship, one walking figure, and the mood of a grey day by the sea is complete. The warm brown of the sand against the cool grey-violet of sea and sky is a simple, calm pairing that suits a quiet room. And it shows Schiele at the very beginning, before the sharp lines he is known for.
Where does it sit among Schiele’s works?
At the very start of his career. The museum dates the work to 1907, a year after Schiele entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, and it belongs to the Peschka Collection, the estate that Schiele’s nephew Anton Peschka junior left to the City of Vienna. Later landscapes in our selection are Setting Sun, Houses by the Sea and Four Trees. The full selection is in the Egon Schiele gallery, with more on his life in our article about Egon Schiele.
How is our hand-painted version made?
A painter works every canvas in oils, stroke by stroke: a hand-painted painting made for your order, not a machine print. The hard part here is scale. The original is only about 26 cm wide, so at our sizes every quick brushstroke grows many times over, and it has to stay loose and fast rather than turn into careful detail. The original is painted on cardboard; our copy is oil on canvas, and we do not present the two supports as the same. When it is finished we photograph it and send you the photograph for approval, and only then does it ship. This work has not yet been photographed in our workshop, so there are no workshop photographs of it on this page yet.
Which size for which wall?
Every one of our four sizes is much larger than the original, which is 25.8 cm wide and 14.6 cm high: even the smallest, 70 x 40 cm, is almost three times as wide. Above a desk, a chest of drawers or a bed, 70 x 40 cm or 80 x 45 cm; above a sofa in the living room or a long sideboard, 140 x 80 cm; on a large wall or in a tall room, 150 x 85 cm. The wide format suits long, low furniture. A canvas painting with such broad bands of colour looks calmest from a few steps away. Hang it with the centre at eye level, about 145–150 cm from the floor.
Custom size, stretcher bar and frame
If none of our sizes suits your wall, we paint the work to your own measurement. If you choose “YES” under the Stretcher option, the canvas comes stretched on a wooden stretcher bar, ready to hang. Our 3D application is for choosing a frame only, not for showing the work on your wall. The frame is chosen separately and need not be part of the order.
Delivery and guarantee
We paint to order and deliver to sixteen countries in the European Union, among them Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Germany and France; the United Kingdom and Ireland are not currently among them. The painting arrives protectively packed and, if you chose “YES” under Stretcher, stretched on the stretcher bar; before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished work to approve. Production time depends on the size and on the studio’s workload. Every order is covered by our Returns and Refund Policy.
Frequently asked questions
How old was Schiele when he painted it?
The museum dates the work to 1907. Schiele was born on 12 June 1890, so he was sixteen or seventeen that year, and he had entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna in 1906.
Who are the people on the beach?
The museum record does not name them. One tall figure in a long dark garment walks across the middle of the beach, and a few smaller figures stand further right near the water.
What is it painted on?
On cardboard, in oils. The record gives its size as 14.6 cm high and 25.8 cm wide, so it is a small work painted with quick, broad strokes.
Where is the original?
In the Wien Museum in Vienna, under inventory number 243486. It belongs to the Peschka Collection, the estate that Schiele’s nephew Anton Peschka junior left to the City of Vienna; he died in 1997.
Does it work as a gift?
Yes; if you are unsure which size to choose, there is a gift voucher.
